Bruce Springsteen North American dates announced

As expected, Bruce Springsteen's presence on the New Orleans Jazz Fest schedule was note a one-off, but a toe in the water. Springsteen will launch a North American tour on April 4th in Cincinnati, currently plotting 15 shows across arenas and amphitheatres.

Ticket on-sales for the shows are sprinkled across several dates through the latter half of February (shows and ticket info listed below).

The global routing fo the tour marks something of a backtrack for Springsteen, who is currently in the middle of a southern-hemisphere tour that finds him returning to Australia just 18 months after his last visit while easing into America via markets in the South that normally appear at the tail end of his normal routing.

The spurt in touring activity follows the January release of "High Hopes," Springsteen's 18th studio album, which includes the studio remakes of a songs like "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and "American Skin" in versions that tour audiences are familiar with, particularly in cities where former Rage Ahainst The Machine guitarist Tom Morello has joined Springsteen on stage.

Morello joined Springsteen and the E Street Band in the studio for several sessions that culminated in the new album, and is currently touring with the band as a 4th electric guitarist across the front of the stage, with Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren.

Van Zandt currently stars in the cable series "Lilihammer," and Morello had been tapped to sit in for him during the spring 2013 Australian tour.